Terrorism and Instability in Sub–Saharan Africa
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S. HRG. 114–766 TERRORISM AND INSTABILITY IN SUB–SAHARAN AFRICA HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION MAY 10, 2016 Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Relations ( Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 29–581 PDF WASHINGTON : 2018 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Publishing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate Mar 15 2010 11:25 May 07, 2018 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 S:\FULL COMMITTEE\HEARING FILES\MOVED TO RUN\29-581.TXT MIKE FOREI-42327 with DISTILLER COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS BOB CORKER, Tennessee, Chairman JAMES E. RISCH, Idaho BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland MARCO RUBIO, Florida BARBARA BOXER, California RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey JEFF FLAKE, Arizona JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire CORY GARDNER, Colorado CHRISTOPHER A. COONS, Delaware DAVID PERDUE, Georgia TOM UDALL, New Mexico JOHNNY ISAKSON, Georgia CHRISTOPHER MURPHY, Connecticut RAND PAUL, Kentucky TIM KAINE, Virginia JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts TODD WOMACK, Staff Director JESSICA LEWIS, Democratic Staff Director JOHN DUTTON, Chief Clerk (II) VerDate Mar 15 2010 11:25 May 07, 2018 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 S:\FULL COMMITTEE\HEARING FILES\MOVED TO RUN\29-581.TXT MIKE FOREI-42327 with DISTILLER CONTENTS Page Corker, Hon. Bob, U.S. Senator From Tennessee ................................................. 1 Cardin, Hon. Benjamin L., U.S. Senator From Maryland ................................... 2 Thomas-Greenfield, Hon. Linda, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of African Af- fairs, U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC ............................................ 4 Etim, Hon. Linda, Assistant Administrator for Africa, U.S. Agency for Inter- national Development, Washington, DC ............................................................ 6 Siberell, Justin, Acting Coordinator for Counterterrorism, Bureau of Counter- terrorism, U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC .................................... 8 Abdoulaye Mar Dieye, Assistant Administrator and Director, Regional Bureau for Africa, United Nations Development Program, New York, NY .................. 32 Fomunyoh, Dr. Christopher, Senior Associate and Regional Director for Cen- tral and West Africa, National Democratic Institute, Washington, DC .......... 34 ADDITIONAL MATERIAL SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD Witnesses’ Prepared Statements Joint Prepared Statement Submitted by Hon. Linda Thomas-Greenfield and Justin Siberell ...................................................................................................... 44 Prepared Statement of Hon. Linda Etim ............................................................... 50 Prepared Statement of Abdoulaye Mar Dieye ....................................................... 54 Prepared Statement of Christopher Fomunyoh, Ph.D. ......................................... 56 Additional Questions for the Record Responses to Questions for the Record Submitted to Hon. Linda Thomas- Greenfield and Justin Siberell by Senator Corker ............................................ 60 Responses to Questions for the Record Submitted to Hon. Linda Thomas- Greenfield by Senator Cardin ............................................................................. 68 Responses to Questions for the Record Submitted to Hon. Linda Etim by Senator Cardin ..................................................................................................... 75 Responses to Questions for the Record Submitted to Justin Seberell by Sen- ator Cardin ........................................................................................................... 77 Responses to Questions for the Record Submitted to Hon. Linda Thomas- Greenfield by Senator Perdue ............................................................................. 82 Responses to Questions for the Record Submitted to Hon. Linda Etim by Senator Perdue ..................................................................................................... 88 Responses to Questions for the Record Submitted to Justin Siberell by Sen- ator Perdue ........................................................................................................... 93 (III) VerDate Mar 15 2010 11:25 May 07, 2018 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 S:\FULL COMMITTEE\HEARING FILES\MOVED TO RUN\29-581.TXT MIKE FOREI-42327 with DISTILLER VerDate Mar 15 2010 11:25 May 07, 2018 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 S:\FULL COMMITTEE\HEARING FILES\MOVED TO RUN\29-581.TXT MIKE FOREI-42327 with DISTILLER TERRORISM AND INSTABILITY IN SUB–SAHARAN AFRICA TUESDAY, MAY 10, 2016 U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS, Washington, DC. The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:00 a.m. in room SD–419, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Bob Corker, chair- man of the committee, presiding. Present: Senators Corker [presiding], Rubio, Flake, Gardner, Isakson, Cardin, Shaheen, Coons, Murphy, Kaine, and Markey. OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. BOB CORKER, U.S. SENATOR FROM TENNESSEE The CHAIRMAN. I call the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to order. We thank our witnesses for being here and look forward to your testimony. As much of the world concentrates on the ISIS threat and insta- bility in the Middle East, the committee takes this opportunity to consider efforts by the United States and other partners to counter extremism in the Sub-Saharan Africa area. Long-term development has been the norm across much of Afri- ca, including here in our committee with the recent signing of the Power Africa legislation, which we are all very proud of and appre- ciate the way the administration has led on that effort also, that we hope will bring investment to a key sector for economic growth and opportunity. Whereas in the Middle East we have been react- ing to abhorrent state and terrorist violence and the uprooting of millions of people, in Africa we have had the opportunity of years of influence through diplomacy and development and partnerships to improve outcomes. However, violent extremism is not a new phenomenon in Africa. Three sub-regions have exploded with terrorist elements, some dec- ades old. Al Shabaab and its predecessors have long troubled So- malia and its neighbors in east Africa, including through Al Qaeda attacks on American embassies in 1998. Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb has evolved since 9/11 into a vicious regional threat across the Sahel and beyond, and they have fought the Algerian Government since 1991 in one form or another. Boko Haram, which has declared allegiance to ISIS, will stop at nothing to carry out its grotesque attacks against civilians and communities across Ni- geria and the Lake Chad Basin. (1) VerDate Mar 15 2010 11:25 May 07, 2018 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 S:\FULL COMMITTEE\HEARING FILES\MOVED TO RUN\29-581.TXT MIKE FOREI-42327 with DISTILLER 2 All three of these conflicts have drawn international intervention and resources because the terrorist elements involved are seen as aspiring to the kind of international terrorism perpetrated by Al Qaeda and ISIS. And some are beginning to show increased sophis- tication in attacks. Beyond these three conflict and terrorist-ridden regions are sev- eral complex crises that breed on instability brought on by many factors, the most egregious of which appears to be the complete lack of government responsibility for its citizens through corruption and greed rather than any lack of resources. This includes most re- cently South Sudan and the Central African Republic and, of course, the decades-long atrocities in the Democratic Republic of Congo, all three of which have cost billions of dollars to mitigate through massive peacekeeping operations. While the world seeks ways to address the direct threat of emer- gent terrorist groups in a reaction mode, we have had a chance— and still do—to improve the prospects for many countries in Africa by leveraging long-term relationships and development. I am also concerned that there are efforts to gain traction in de- stabilizing other countries we consider relatively stable now. I look forward to hearing from our witnesses today, the lessons that they have drawn from their direct engagement in these re- gions, and I hope to better understand what the underlying factors are that contribute to the terrorist threat in the region and what U.S. efforts have been made to build a better response across the whole of government and with partners in the international com- munity. With that, I will turn to our distinguished ranking member, Ben Cardin. STATEMENT OF HON. BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, U.S. SENATOR FROM MARYLAND Senator CARDIN. Well, Chairman Corker, thank you very much for convening this hearing on terrorism and instability in Sub-Sa- haran Africa. I agree with your assessments. The amount of escalating violence in this region is a major concern and requires the attention of this committee, of the United States Senate, and the American people. I also agree with you that there are multiple reasons for the in- stability and crisis in this region, but that there is a common theme of poor governance. And that is an issue that provides a vac- uum and that vacuum is usually filled with instability and recruit- ment of extremists. So I very